


Welcome to Altea University!

by muzicwolf



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Altea University, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Keith is emotional AF when things get crazy, M/M, Pining!Lance, Professor!Coran, RA!Shiro, Rolo shows up later, Spanish speaking Lance, University AU, and so does Nyma, basically everyone is human here, established Hunk/Shay, eventual pining!Keith, eventual shallura, human!AU, please let me know if you want translations in the notes, shiro gets crushes like a middle school girl its too much
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-15
Updated: 2017-01-08
Packaged: 2018-08-15 05:32:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8044294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muzicwolf/pseuds/muzicwolf
Summary: The only reason Lance appreciates Altea Uni is his insanely attractive RA. Is there any other reason to appreciate school? However, flirting with your RA is a bit of a struggle when your roommate is the RAs best friend and also personal bodyguard. Otherwise known as that university au where Lance is pining after Shiro, and Keith is not happy about it.





	1. Orientation

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, and welcome to my very first Voltron fanfiction. Who doesn't love a good university au right?  
> I got this idea from Tumblr, where all great fanfiction ideas emerge.  
> If you want, check me out on Tumblr for updates or if you just want to ask a question/make a suggestion.  
> My Tumblr: http://muzic-wolf.tumblr.com/

“Hunk you really need to stop with the sulking face. We made it didn’t we?”

Hunk wasn't sure he would agree with that. Lance’s skin care routine took at least half an hour. And this morning he had woken up late. Unfortunately, Lance wasn’t one to skip his daily routine. It was the _only_ thing he never left the house without doing. And if he had spent as much time worrying about his skin as his school work, he probably would have got out of high school at the top of their class. 

“Quit frowning Hunk, you’ll get wrinkles.”

In the end, they barely made it in time for orientation. The guide was just finishing her “Welcome” speech when Hunk and Lance snuck in, joining the back of the group as the filed out for the tour.

“Y’know Lance, I promised Shay I would meet her before Orientation.” 

Lance actually had the good sense to look guilty. 

“Okay, I’m sorry. I’ll text Shay okay?”

Of course, Hunk had already texted Shay when he arrived at Lance’s house in the midst of his beauty routine that he was going to be late. He thanked whatever higher power there was every day that Shay was such a forgiving person.

Hunk sighed as his annoyance dissipated away into nothing. He could never stay mad at his best friend. And it’s not like it was something he hadn’t been planning for. 

“It’s fine. We’ll just meet after.”

Nothing much was said between the two for the rest of the tour. And only because Hunk actually wanted to pay attention and figure out where everything was so he didn’t have to walk about like a lost puppy later. Lance was on his phone, completely oblivious to everything around him, so, in the long run, it was better for both of them if Hunk was paying attention.

“Alright, well I actually have somewhere to be, so Shiro is going to finish up the tour. Enjoy the rest of the tour and I hope you guys have a lot of fun at Altea University.”

Hunk really didn’t even hear the end of that really peppy and bright exist statement. He was too busy looking at the guy that took her place. No way. No way in hell.

“ _Lance._ ” 

Lance was all too absorbed in whatever he was looking at on his phone-probably Tumblr-to notice Shiro introducing himself or that Hunk was practically vibrating next to him.

“ _Lance!”_

Hunk whisper shouted and shoved the other boy, maybe a little too hard, in an attempt to get his attention. 

“ _Hey!_ What the hell Hunk?” 

Lance’s first thought was that Hunk _was_ actually still upset about this morning. But then he noticed that Hunk was nodding towards the front of the group and he wondered if Hunk had a bad twitch or something. So finally he turned to look and- _holy mother of Jesus_.

“Hunk. _Hunk it’s him.”_ Hunk rolled his eyes at his oblivious friend.

Shiro had been working the desk in the counseling office during registration week. So when Hunk and Lance had gone in for a freshman group counseling session, Shiro was the first face they saw, and Lance had fallen for him, _hard_. 

Lance didn’t believe in love at first sight. But he did believe in attraction at first sight. Was that even a thing? Lance figured it didn’t matter because _Dios Mio,_ Shiro was hotter than a summer day in the desert.

“Hello? _Earth to Lance_. You’re staring and it’s starting to get weird.”

Hunk’s voice broke Lance from his thoughts and he shook his head. Thankfully, being at the back of the pack, Shiro hadn’t noticed Lance staring at him, probably without blinking… Is that why his eyes felt so dry now?

~~~

The rest of the tour was spent with Lance pining after Shiro as they walked around the campus. And Hunk thought Lance wasn’t paying attention when he was staring at his cell phone. It was a miracle that he could even walk around now. He had this disgusting dreamy look in his eyes and Hunk could only smile and shake his head, letting his friend have his moment. It had been a while since Lance had fallen for someone like this and Hunk figured he would let Lance have his fun while it lasted.

“And here we are, back at the cafeteria. I’m sure you already know that this is where you can get breakfast and lunch. There’s also vending machines inside that sell test books, pencils, erasers, and anything else you should probably already have.”  
A chuckle sounded throughout the group and Shiro smiled. Lance almost swooned. It should be illegal to have a smile that blinding. It would probably cure sickness. Turn water to wine. The way it lit up his eyes, _god,_ he could probably see in the dark with how bright it was.

“If you guys ever need help, I’m the RA for the Blue and Red dorms. Just in case you can’t find the RA for your own building.”

With that, Shiro ended the tour and the group dispersed until Lance and Hunk were the only ones left standing there. And not because they really wanted to be standing like statues in front of the cafeteria. It was Lance was in the middle of a crisis. 

“ _Hunk_ , he’s the RA for my dorm.”

Hunk sighed. “Please don’t bother him more than you have to. I’m sure he’s busy.”

Lance waved his friends worry away.  
“It’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

The two boys finally left their spot in front of the cafeteria to walk around the campus, meeting with Shay along the way.

 

Meanwhile, Shiro was greeting his childhood friend who had just arrived late despite his best efforts.

“Want me to give you a tour? Just so you know where everything is. Then you can head over to your dorm.”

The other boy shrugged and pulled on his red jacket. It had been too hot on the car ride there to wear it. 

“Sure, as long as you don’t have something else to do.”

Shiro smiled. 

“I’ve got nothing to do. All the group tours are over for the day. So let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not entirely sure why I decided to make the end so mysterious when we all know who it is...whatever.  
> This chapter is kind of short. I guess I made it that way as a tester??? That's such a lie, I'm just really bad at starting things. The other chapters will be longer I promise.  
> Anyway, leave a comment, let me know what you think, and I hope you come back for the next chapter!  
> Until then, hasta la later.


	2. New Beginnings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey I’m back with chapter 2!  
> I promised it would be longer didn’t I?  
> (I tried very hard to keep this promise so I hope it's sufficient because halfway through I hit a wall...)

“God Hunk, why is he so perfect.”

It was late now, all the events around campus were dying down and the students were retreating to their dorm rooms to get ready for the first day of class tomorrow.

Hunk was tempted to ignore his best friends comment, not in the mood for another round of _“listen to Lance pine over the attractive RA”_. Surprisingly, he didn’t have to comment because Lance’s pining session died before it even began.

Lance had become too preoccupied with organizing his photos to think about Shiro. He stared fondly at the group photo of his family that had been taken at his going-away party. It had been a nightmare trying to get all of his siblings to stand still long enough to take a photo that someone wasn’t blurry in. But all the turmoil had ultimately been worth it. For all the complaining he did about not needing a picture, because it’s not like he was going to forget what they looked like, it turned out to be his favorite thing.

Lance did not think he was ever going to leave his house. For some reason he believed that he would always be there, surrounded by siblings, cousins, aunts, and uncles, never having a moment to himself. Not that he didn’t ever plan on going to college or moving out. It was just that leaving the utter chaos of his childhood home seemed ridiculous, and a little bit horrifying. He still remembered how uneasy it was around the house when his older brothers moved out. And now, being on the other end of the move, it was even more uncomfortable. And as he sat in the relative silence of his new dorm room, he realized how eerie the silence was. 

The sound of the door opening is what finally broke Lance from his growing feeling of unease. Lance turned to greet what he assumed was his new roommate and what he saw stole the friendly greeting right from his mouth.

“Why do you have a mullet?” The other boy raised an eyebrow and he knew he’d spoken out loud. _Crap_.

“ _Nice to meet you too._ I’m Keith.”

Great first impression Lance… Hunk shook his head and opted to stay silent. 

“Am I in the wrong dorm?”

For a solid minute, Lance had no idea what he was talking about. And why did he sound so utterly annoyed? His rooming sheet said his roommate's name was Keith. Hunk’s voice behind him gave them both the answer they were looking for.

“No, you’re good. I was just hanging out. Should probably get back to my own dorm. I’m Hunk, by the way. I would warn you that Lance kind of doesn’t have a filter but you’ve already seen that…”

Lance shot Hunk a glare that very clearly said, _not helping_ , but Hunk ignored it.

“Anyway, I’m sure I’ll see you around Keith.”

With that, Hunk exited the room, sending Lance a smirk as he went, and the last sound was the door clicking shut before Lance and Keith fell into a very uncomfortable silence. 

Well, it was uncomfortable for Lance, seeing as how he’d just insulted the person he’d be living with and seeing every day for the rest of the year. Well, not the whole year. There was winter break and he’d obviously be going back home for that. Then there was thanksgiving, but that was only a week and- Lance shook his ramblings from his mind. This was not the time for one of his tangents.

Keith really couldn’t care less, the comment already forgotten, for now anyway. He was currently too busy putting away his stuff and organizing his desk to notice that Lance was still standing in the middle of the room. 

“Uh…I’m sorry about the hair comment. It just surprised me a little. I mean, I thought mullets were completely out of style. It’s just so strange to see someone with that hairstyle. I mean, it’s weird enough seeing it on someone older but like, someone our age with a mullet- ah, sorry. Rambling. Hunk is right, I really don’t have a fil-”

“Listen, it doesn’t really matter to me, alright?”

Lance was shocked into silence when Keith abruptly cut him off, not even bothering to look at him while he was talking. He just continued putting his stuff away.

“We’re roommates, but that doesn’t mean we have to be friends. How about we just agree to stay out of each other’s way and call it a day.”

Lance could not believe the nerve of this guy. But at that very moment he really didn’t feel like starting something with this guy he just met. That’s not how he wanted to end his first day in college. Well, technically the first day of college wasn’t until tomorrow but- whatever, it didn’t matter.

What did matter was that Lance was tired and a little bit homesick already and he just wanted to go to sleep.

So he muttered a quiet agreement and sunk onto his bed, phone in hand. It only took a few minutes before Lance was out like a light, events of the day fading away into nothing.

~~~

He’d had his phone in his hands when he’d fallen asleep. Lance was sure of it. He’d been scrolling through Tumblr and he remembered that his eyes had started to sting and his eyelids grew heavy.

And then it was morning and his phone alarm was blaring at him from his nightstand. And Lance had done nothing but lay there and stare at it until the beeping became so annoying he finally had to shut it off. It was only then he noticed that Keith was already gone.

“ _Lance.”_

His head snapped up and he looked towards the voice. He was met with the cornered gazes of Hunk and Shay.

“Did you hear anything I just said?”

Hunk’s voice was bordering on annoyed but now edging into concerned. He wondered how long Hunk had been waiting for him to respond. 

“No. I was thinking about my phone. I had it in my hand last night but when I woke up it was on my nightstand. Maybe I put it there before I went to sleep. But I don’t remember that… I wasn’t that tired. Maybe I did it in my sleep. Has anyone ever plugged in their phone in their sleep? Even if they have, _I’ve_ certainly never done it. I mean…I don’t even remember _unpacking_ my charger yesterday. Come to think of it, there was no charger around my phone… What do you think guys? Don’t you think that’s kind of weird?”

Hunk’s concern washed away almost immediately and he shook his head. 

“You’re such an idiot. I thought something was wrong.”

“Maybe it was the aliens.” Shay added with a laughed and Hunk groaned. 

“Shay please do not encourage his madness. It was probably just Keith. You do have a roommate y’know…”

Lance’s face scrunched up as if he’d just smelled something awful and then he shook his head.

“The dude already hates me. There’s no way he’d do that.”

The mullet comment hadn’t been that bad and it left Hunk to wonder what exactly had happened after he’d left to make Keith hate Lance. But to be honest, he really didn’t want to know. So he stayed silent.

The trio had approximately an hour left before their first classes. And it was spent talking about completely random subjects, which wasn’t unwelcome. It felt like home, and it was definitely comforting. They needed as much home as they could get before projects and homework and exams made their lives a living hell.

~~~

Keith wondered if he’d made a mistake. He’d already made it more than clear to Lance that he wasn’t looking for friendship. But really, what harm could plugging in his roommate's cell phone do?

To be completely honest, Keith wasn’t going to do anything when he noticed Lance had fallen asleep with his phone in his hands. It wasn’t his problem if he was late on the first day of classes. But after the phone had beeped for the hundredth time signaling that it needed to be charged, Keith had felt like he was going to lose his mind.

So he’d gotten up and plugged it in, praying that Lance didn’t wake up while he was doing so. After being a bit of a douche just hours before, it would have made for a very awkward situation.

Keith had wondered if maybe it was a bad idea after all when he realized he would have to use his own phone charger. His idiot roommate hadn’t unpacked his and there was no way Keith was about to start digging through Lance’s stuff. 

Of course, he could have just woken Lance up and told him to plug in his phone. But Keith didn’t know what kind of sleeper Lance was. Maybe he was a heavy sleeper and there’d be no chance in waking him. Or maybe he one of those people who was really delirious when they first woke up. If that was the case, he wouldn’t even know what Keith was talking about. Keith was not in the mood to deal with that. Plugging in the cell phone seemed like the easiest course of action.

Keith had woken up before Lance, which he had completely expected. Lance didn’t seem like an early riser. So he had taken his phone charger back, leaving the cell on the nightstand. There, problem solved. And to be honest, it made him laugh to think how confused Lance would be to find his phone charged with no charger in sight. That is, if he noticed at all.

“Hey, Keith!” 

Keith was pulled from his very annoying inner monolog by a familiar voice, and a familiar feeling of something like happiness or comfort replaced his annoyance.

“Hey Shiro.” He answered, but the comfortable feeling he’d had only seconds before died in his chest when he noticed Shiro was not alone, and he hated it.

He hated it that he only felt comfortable around Shiro. He hated that he got his feeling of-what was it? Jealousy probably, but he could never admit it to himself. Because jealousy would be completely unfounded. Shiro had a life outside of him.

“Keith, did you hear me?” 

He shook the haze from his brain and met Shiro’s concerned gaze.

“Sorry. I was zoning out. What’s up?” 

Shiro studied him for a second, before deciding it might be better not to push.

“I was asking if you want to meet for lunch in the café?”

Keith shrugged, ever indifferent.

“Sure. My last class ends at 1:30. I’ll meet you there.” Keith stood up as he was talking, slinging his backpack over his shoulder, and Shiro nodded.

“Alright, see you then.”

Keith waved as he was walking away.

“Is her always so…” Allura stopped, searching for the right word. Quiet? Introverted? Closed off? 

Shiro knew what she meant before she’d even finished her statement.

“Yeah, but he’s not a bad guy. Just doesn’t like talking that much.”

Allura wondered how on Earth Shiro and Keith became friends. Shiro was always interacting with people, talking about books or movies, helping people with their homework, introducing himself to the people in his dorm. Meanwhile, Keith looked like it was a burden to talk to his best friend. Allura thought it was very strange.

Shiro frowned as he watched Keith walk away. He’d always been quiet and it had taken years before he’d opened up to Shiro. He never let anyone in after that. He barely talked to his parents. As they walked towards their own classes, Shiro found himself hoping that Keith would open up more and meet new people. To have someone to talk to when he wasn’t around. 

College was an entirely new environment. New place. New faces. More chances to get out and enjoy life. Shiro desperately hoped that Keith took advantage of that.

~~~

When Keith arrived at his first class, the professor was handing out cards that just showed a number. 

“Take a seat wherever you like. I’ll explain what the numbers are for once class starts. Just don’t get too comfortable in your spot.”

Keith was surprised she was able to keep a smile on her face when she had to keep repeating the same phrase for every single person or group that walked in the door. But he figured it was a good trait for a professor to have- patience. He wished some of his high school teachers had practiced that some patience…

Keith took his card. The number 5. Then he sat in the front row and put his earbuds in, figuring it was better than sitting in silence for the next half an hour.

Slowly, people began filing into the class, but Keith didn’t even look up from his phone when both seats on either side of him were filled. Maybe he should have looked up to say hello or something. But at the moment he couldn’t find it in himself to care. The professor had said not to get comfortable where they were, so what was the point.

When the professor took her spot at the front of the classroom, Keith pulled his headphones out and shoved him in his bag. 

“Alright. Welcome everyone to Introduction to Biology. My name is Professor Romelle. The cards that I passed out when you walked in are your lab partner assignments. Find the person with the same number as you and pick a place to sit. And no partner switches. Think of this as your first icebreaker and take it as an opportunity to meet someone new.”

With that, everyone stood to find their partners. Keith stood and slung his bag over his shoulder. He glanced around the class and stopped dead when he met the gaze of an all too familiar face that he’d hoped he wouldn’t have to see again so soon.

And then Lance held up his card, a large number 5 staring back at Keith.

 

_Oh hell no._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all, who doesn’t love a good lab partners cliché??  
> So, in case you didn’t notice, I wanted to make this chapter kind of like an introduction chapter. And yes, I did notice someone is missing but I didn’t forget. Pidge will be introduced in the next chapter.  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed chapter 2.


	3. New Place, New Faces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I’m back! I wanted to update sooner but what are you going to do when you’ve got piles of essays and research projects. College is really great. I’ve also been brainstorming a lot of other fics so yeah, kind of sidetracked.  
> Anyway, I’ve got a lot of ideas for the future of this fic, but for now just let me know what you think.  
> Enjoy the chapter!

Keith opted to say nothing to Lance. He simply chose a table, sat down, and waited for his new partner to join him. Just because they would have to communicate later did not mean he had to strike up a conversation right now.

“Keith listen,” Lance started, “I get that you’re not thrilled about us being partners. But we should at least try to make it work, right?”

Keith absolutely resented Lance for speaking to him in such a civil and polite tone that he was obligated to reply, because if he didn’t, he would just look like a douchebag.

“Whatever. Just make sure you do all your work okay? I’m not getting a bad grade in this class because of you.”

Yeah… maybe he should have stayed quiet instead. What was that saying about not saying anything if you didn’t have anything nice to say… 

Lance sighed at his second failed attempt to have a decent conversation with Keith and was seriously starting to think it was impossible. But he wasn’t known to give up so easily. He’d lost the battle, but not the war.

~~~

Hunk hoped Lance’s first class was going alright… Lance had a really bad habit of making a fool out of himself. What if he said something obnoxious and got on the professor's bad side right from the beginning. Hunk had always acted as Lance’s filter. He’d always been there to defuse difficult situations.

“Earth to Hunk. Anyone home?”

He shook his head and turned to look at the person sitting next to him. Pidge. When the professor had called Katie, the person sitting beside him that immediately raised their hand and corrected the name to Pidge. He thought it was kind of a strange name, but hey, who was he to talk about strange nicknames. 

“Oh sorry. I was just thinking about my friend. He doesn’t really have a filter and I’m afraid he’s going to get himself into trouble. I mean, he’s not a troublemaker…most of the time. He just has a tendency to not think about what he says before he says it. I don’t think there was one teacher whose bad side he didn’t get on in high school-”

Hunk abruptly cut himself off when he realized he was talking about something completely irrelevant, but Pidge just laughed it off.

“Well, he’s an adult now. I’m sure he can take care of himself.”

Hunk laughed as well, but even as he did he wasn’t so sure. It was like he could already feel somethinggoing wrong. Like Lance was plotting something that he was, unfortunately, going to be involved in. It sent a shiver down his spine that he elected to ignore. Better to not dwell on something he didn’t know for sure.

“Anyway,” Pidge said, flipping a green highlighter in her hand. “We’re supposed to be highlighting important parts of the syllabus. That is, if you’re done spacing out.”

Hunk nodded and uncapped his own highlighter and they both set to work. After that the professor went over the syllabus as a whole, detailing what the class objectives were and what they would need.

When the syllabus talk was over, the professor told everyone to talk to the person sitting next to them. Something generic about how it was good to know someone in class. 

It turned out to be the best ice breaker Hunk and Pidge ever had to deal with. And the pair ended up talking about computer science and robotics for the next ten minutes straight, when most everyone else uttered a greeting and nothing more. The very excited, in-depth discussion ended with the exchanging of numbers before the professor said they could leave, but not before warning them that this was the only class that would end early.

“Oh, hey Pidge.” Hunk called before Pidge could leave and she turned around, surprised that Hunk had called out to her. “If you’re not busy, my friends and I are going to hang out. If you want to join.”

For a minute, Pidge just stood there, staring at Hunk, and he felt heat creep up to his face. 

“Oh! That’s not to say you don’t have friends. Because I’m sure you do. And maybe you want to hang out with them instead of with some guy you just met and a bunch of other people you don’t know. I’m sure that would be pretty awkward for you-”

“Hunk-”

“I just wanted to make a suggestion. Y’know, because you’re pretty cool- Ah, but I’m not hitting on you.”

“Hunk stop, I-”

“I mean, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. I have a girlfriend-”

“ _Hunk!”_

Hunk stopped abruptly at that, and it was only really because Pidge was laughing. 

“Man, and you say Lance doesn’t have a filter… I’d love to see how bad he is. You just surprised me is all. But yeah, I’ll hang out with you guys. You have my number, just let me know when. I have one more class after this and then I’m free for the day.”

Hunk nodded, relieved that his word vomit hadn’t ruined a potential friendship. Maybe Lance was rubbing off on him. It wouldn’t be that strange. Years and years of hanging out with someone will do that to you. Hunk and Pidge walked out of class together before parting ways, as they had class in opposite directions.

As Hunk walked to his next class, a familiar feeling that he’d forgotten something settled over him. He wasn’t normally a forgetful person and the feeling was making him extremely uncomfortable. 

~~~

Lance’s second class was a thousand times less eventful than his first one, but he wasn’t complaining. Not that spending a little over two hours in tense silence with his roommate that already hated him wasn’t enjoyable. And on top of that, Professor Romelle turned out to be one of those professors that always had to use class time to the fullest. They had spent the rest of their time doing pointless icebreakers and getting to know other people in the class. Which, looking back, didn’t make much sense since they’d only be partnered with one person all semester…

Lance had smiled his way through the ordeal, easily starting a conversation with anyone and everyone. He was a people person, anyone could see that much. Keith, on the other hand, seemed to be uncomfortable. Actually, upon further inspection, Lance decided that _uncomfortable_ was putting it lightly. It was more like Keith was suffering. Just from looking at his face, Lance was worried that he was actually in serious pain, and he wondered if maybe Keith didn’t have that much experience with new people. He didn’t seem all that comfortable being pushed to meet people. In which case it made sense that he was so hostile towards Lance when they first met and he just needed space for a while.

That was going to be quite difficult for the guy who literally never ever stopped talking. _How on Earth had they been roomed together in the first place?_

_~~~_

“Do you think if I begged and pleaded that I could be assigned to a different roommate?”

Lance mumbled, squinting up at the clouds as they traveled across the sky.

“It seems highly unlikely that you would be allowed to change roommates.” Shay answered, looking up from her book. “After all, we were told before paying the deposit that we wouldn’t be allowed to change roommates.”

Lance groaned and threw his arm over his eyes.

“Don’t be such a drama queen Lance. It’s only been a day. You just got off to a bad start with him.” Hunk said absentmindedly as he looked around.

“Keith me odia. Nadie me ha odiado antes. ¿Que debería hacer?”

Shay looked at Hunk questioningly but he just shook his head. The last time either of them had taken any form of Spanish was high school. Hunk had only taken the two-year requirement for a foreign language so hat he could focus on his engineering classes. Shay had taken all four years in pursuit of being what the high school district called a “certified bilingual”. 

But learning a second language in school and practicing it on a daily basis were quite different. Needless to say, knowing four years of formal Spanish was on a whole other level of trying to understand someone who’d been speaking Spanish forever. 

“You all look like you’re awaiting the apocalypse. It’s only the first day.”

Lance lifted his arm just enough to see a new figure standing next to Hunk. Immediately, he felt something familiar. He frowned and sat up, staring at the girl. What was it… the glasses, the bushy brown hair…

Maybe it was something about her face. “You…you look really familiar. Have we met before?”

At Lance’s question, Hunk immediately looked mortified.

“ _What the hell Lance?_ You can’t just hit on every single person you meet.” Hunk turned to her with ears burning. “I am so sorry Pidge. I told you Lance doesn’t have a filter but I should have warned you that he’ll hit on anything with a pulse.”

Lance turned away from Pidge to glare at his best friend. “Oh shut up Hunk. I don’t hit on _everyone_. I’m serious though. I swear we know her.”

Lance’s words stirred something in Hunk and the same uneasy feeling that he was forgetting something crept up on him for the second time that day. 

“To be honest,” Hunk added, “I kind of thought so too.”

Both boys turned back to Pidge, who was still standing, but she only shrugged. 

“No idea. Maybe I look like someone else you know.” 

Lance hummed thoughtfully. Maybe she was right. But for the life of him, Lance could not remember anyone who looked even remotely similar to Pidge. Someone who lived had lived near them? Maybe it was someone they went to high school with? At this point, it could have been a mutual friend on Facebook that he had seen once 5 years ago. 

“So where are we going?”

Pidge’s question broke them from their thoughts and Lance shrugged as he stood.

“Doesn’t matter to me. The longer we’re out, the less time I have to spend in Hell.”

Pidge raised an eyebrow and looked at Hunk.

“You forgot to mention that Lance is also a drama queen.” 

“Oh, right. It’s so much like second nature to him that I don’t even notice it anymore.”

Lance expression fell into a pout and he spun on his heel.

“Let’s go.”

The other three followed after him and it was silent for a while.

“I might regret asking this but…” Pidge started, “What did you mean when you said you didn’t want to-” She paused to add the emphasis of air quotes, “ _spend time in Hell?”_

Lance spun around, eyes wide with sudden realization.

_“You don’t know yet.”_

Hunk rolled his eyes, “You’re in for it now Pidge.” He mumbled under his breath as Lance launched into the epic tale of his fire-breathing roommate.

~~~

“Hey.”

Shiro looked up from his book when Keith sat across from him, dropping his bag on the floor by his chair. 

“Hey.”

“Allura’s not with you.”

Keith meant it to be a harmless observation, but it came out sounding more like, _Allura’s not coming is she_? Keith guessed he could count himself as lucky that Shiro didn’t take offense. At least, not outwardly.

“No, she’s busy. Helping her uncle set up his class. He’s teaching a creative writing class now and has some crazy introduction planned for his students.” Shiro said and then cleared his throat. “How were your classes today?”

“Okay, I guess. I got paired with my idiot roommate as lab partners in Bio. My English class was kind of boring. We just went over the syllabus and then filled out those personality cards. Y’know, the ones where you write your name, nickname, hobbies, blah blah blah. And now I’m here. How were your classes?”

Shiro shrugged. “College is college. I mean, I’ve already been here a year. Syllabus days are always the same. Short, sweet, and to the point. However, I would really like to know why you think your roommate is an idiot. You just met.”

Keith groaned, not loving the idea of reliving the events of yesterday.

“Well, first of all, the very first thing he said to me was ‘ _why do you have a mullet’_?”

Shiro actually had to cover his mouth to stifle a laugh and Keith glared.

“ _Don’t laugh you asshole._ I mean, what kind of first impression is that?”

It took a moment for Shiro to push his laughter down, but when he finally succeeded, he was still grinning ear to ear.

“No offense Keith. But it does usually catch people off guard. But y’know, I’m not sure that qualifies him as an idiot?”

“That was just the beginning. No, what makes him an idiot is the fact that he fell asleep without plugging his phone in and it just kept _beeping_ and I was going to leave it and wait for it to die but it’s got some crazy long battery life, so I finally had to get up and plug it in for him. And _of course_ he didn’t bother to unpack his charger before he fell asleep so I used mine. He’s annoying, doesn’t know how to keep his mouth shut, and obviously doesn't know how to take care of himself. And I have to live with him.”

Shiro smiled. He couldn’t remember the last time Keith had been so animated when talking about someone, even if it wasn’t positive. It was a step forward.

“Besides your roommate… have you talked to anyone else?”

Shiro knew that asking was a shot in the dark. And apparently, it was a miss. Keith immediately shrunk into himself.

“No, why?” He asked, but he already knew what was coming.

“Listen Keith, Allura thought you seemed a little bit closed off. And…and I agree with her. We’re best friends Keith. But in all the years I’ve known you, you’ve never tried to get to know other people.”

Keith leaned back in his chair. He didn’t want to listen to this. He’d heard it enough times before. From his parents. From Shiro. From the therapist his parents had made him see and who he’d refused to see after just two sessions. Honestly, his parents should have been happy he went back after the first disaster of a session. 

“I don’t need to get to know other people. It’s pointless.”

Shiro frowned, realizing he was probably getting nowhere. Maybe he shouldn’t have mentioned Allura… 

This happened every time he tried to talk to Keith and it didn’t matter what kind of mood he was in. Keith could be in his happiest mood ever and as soon as he realized Shiro was lecturing him, he would just shut down.

“I know you don’t want to hear it. But I wouldn’t keep bringing it up if it wasn’t important. I’m the only one you ever talk to Keith-”

“Why should I need anyone else?” Keith snapped and Shiro fell silent. “Just more people to let me down.”

The conversation was going nowhere fast and Shiro knew if he continued that he risked sending Keith into silent mode. And then he wouldn’t get anything out of him for at least a week.

“Okay, I won’t push. Just…at least be civil with your roommate. You don’t have to make friends with him, but you are going to be living together. Only makes sense, right?” 

The tension eased from Keith’s shoulders. He hated that Shiro was right. But it wasn’t going to be easy. He’d already told Lance he wanted nothing to do with him. Changing that would not be the simplest task. 

“Yeah, alright. But only because I have to live with him.”

To be honest, he was sure he could live just fine not saying a word to Lance outside of their Biology class. But Shiro had asked him to make an effort, and really, who was he to refuse?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spanish Translation Notes: "Keith hates me. No one has ever hated me before. What should I do?"
> 
> If I ever forget to add translation notes in the future, don't hesitate to remind me!


	4. Smoothies & Apologies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M ALIVE. Thought I'd never get this chapter finished tbh. But here I am. I meant to get another chapter of my Marching Band fic done first, so if you're waiting for that, I'm sorry! I promised to have this chapter up before I went to sleep but now its 4am, and I am regretting that decision.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Mango. Lance thought it was a very strange flavor for a smoothie. Mango was one of his favorite fruits but this…

“Why the hell does it taste like pure sugar?” He questioned and stuck his tongue out, setting the styrofoam cup down on the table.

“Isn’t that what most processed drinks taste like?” Pidge pointed out, swirling the straw of her own smoothie around. It was _supposed_ to be strawberry. “I doubt there’s any real mango in your smoothie. And honestly, I doubt there’s any actual strawberry in mine. Actually, I doubt they use any real fruit. I mean, nowhere does it say _real fruit_ so we can’t say we were tricked.”

Hunk shook his head. He had to agree but he refused to prolong this conversation any longer. He was just glad that Lance had found someone else to rant with.

“I am sure that at some point mango was used,” Shay added.

Lance sighed and stood. “Well, I’ve had just about enough of sitting here. Let’s go do something. Maybe it’ll distract me from all the sugar.”

Hunk waited a moment before standing. “Maybe you should just throw it away Lance? It might upset your stomach and you’ll regret it later.” Shay and Pidge stood as well.

Lance shook his head. “No can do. I paid for it, so I’m going to finish it. Now let’s go.” With that, the group left their spot in favoring of wandering the campus.

Pidge was not so committed to her smoothie and it went into the trash can half full. Pidge turned her head to look at Lance, who had somehow ended up behind the group despite being the one so bent on _going somewhere_ in the first place. “Lance, did you have a destination in mind? Or are we just aimlessly wandering?”

Lance shrugged. “Not sure what’s around so I guess for now we’re just exploring the campus. I mean, I wasn’t paying attention at Orientation so I better figure out where everything is. So for now, let’s go… this way!” He suddenly shot forward past the group, taking a sharp left around the building.

This was not one of Lance’s better ideas. Because there was someone standing by the building when he turned the corner. And his first instinct was to bring his arms up to try and stop himself. It wasn’t until the person in front of him was covered in mango smoothie that he realized in was Keith, looking even angrier than he had when they first met.

 _“What. The. Hell.”_ Keith said, trying very hard to keep his cool. But his anger showed clear as day on his face. He was prepared to brush the whole situation off, not eager to make a scene. That is until he realized who is was standing in front of him.

Hunk, Pidge, and Shay rounded the corner then, only to freeze as they took in the scene before them. Of the three, Hunk was the only one who knew who Keith was, and he knew as soon as he realized what was happening that an argument between the two could only escalate until it got completely out of hand.

“Jesus, _of course it’s you._ ” He fumed, the promise he made to Shiro not even half an hour ago immediately forgotten.

Lance wasn’t a savage. And regardless of who is was standing in front of him, he had been ready to apologize. His mother had raised him to be something of a gentleman. And if she ever even got a hint that he’d been rude to anyone, there would have been absolute hell to pay. But as soon as Keith spoke, it was like every civil thought he’d ever had turned to dust.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Keith scoffed, wanting nothing to more than to get rid of his now-soaked shirt because it was sticking to his skin in the most uncomfortable way. But at the moment, it was fueling his rage towards the person standing in front of him.

“Exactly what I said. I should just expect any disaster that happens from now on to be your fault. Who runs around campus like a lunatic anyway? And while we’re on the subject of things you can’t do right, I can honestly say I’ve never met another person _in my life_ who was worse at first impressions. Do you insult everyone as soon as you meet them? Or was it your goal to try and piss off your roommate in the shortest amount of time possible?"

At this point people were starting to stare, pointing at the two and whispering and trying in vain to be inconspicuous about it. “Listen, guys-” Hunk started, stepping forward, only to be drowned out by Lance’s annoyed response.

“ _Listen douchebag_ , you’re no great joy to be around either. For one, you’re rude as hell. I apologized for what I said when I met you. I wasn’t trying to insult you. You could’ve just accepted my apology and moved on. But instead, you decide to hold a petty grudge. You acted like becoming my partner in Bio was the worst thing that’s ever happened to you. You don’t even know me. What’s your problem anyway? Walking around like the universe is out to get you. You don’t have to be such an asshole to everyone.”

Hunk stepped forward and grabbed his arm, tugging him back. “Lance, come on. That’s enough.” Lance followed Hunk’s lead without much persuading.

“Screw off Lance. I don’t care what you think of me, and I sure as hell don’t need your approval. So stay out of my business.” Keith spat out as he walked past them and to the dorm building.

Hunk only let go of Lance after Keith had disappeared around the corner. “See, what did I tell you guys. He’s a nightmare. He didn’t have to explode like that.”  Hunk frowned and the group fell silent while Lance continued to glare at the spot where Keith had disappeared around the corner.

Pidge moved first, opening her mouth, ready to give Lance a piece of her mind, firmly believing that Lance was in the wrong. Shay saw this and spoke first, sure that it would only make things worse if someone else started arguing with him.

“If I may say something, Lance,” She said softly, “I do believe this was your fault. I do admit that Keith may have thrown the situation out of proportion, but you should apologize. I’m sure he was embarrassed as well. And… maybe he was already upset before you bumped into him. I’m sure he didn’t mean to lash out at you.”

You couldn’t argue with Shay. It was physically impossible to argue with her without feeling like a complete and total asshole. Sometimes Lance was convinced that in another life Shay had been a Disney princess, kind-hearted with singing birds around her 24/7. And besides that, it was like she just destroyed anger and negativity. _Can people actually radiate calm and happiness?_

Lance immediately deflated, realizing that she was right. “I hate it when you’re right.” He mumbled and then looked to Hunk and Pidge. “And I don’t want to hear anything from you two. Because I know you’re both thinking the same thing. Just… in a much less friendly way.”

“Then stop standing here talking about it and go fix it,” Pidge said. Lance nodded and started in the direction of the dorms, only to spin around and switch to walking backward. “Is everyone just going to head back to their dorms after this?”

Shay was the first to respond. “I promised I’d video chat with my family this afternoon, so I will be heading back to my dorm.” Hunk and Pidge nodded in agreement.

“Okay, well, someone text me if we’re hanging out tomorrow.” Hunk waved him off, “Yeah yeah, now turn around before your run into someone else.”

Lance saluted them and then turned on his heel and disappeared from sight.

~~~

The first thing that Keith did when he got back to his dorm room was strip his shirt and drop it in the bathroom sink. He would have to rinse it out before putting it in with the laundry. He proceeded to hop in the shower to get rid of any remaining smoothie that had soaked through his shirt in the time he had stood there yelling at Lance.

In retrospect, Keith realized how childish he must have looked, standing there arguing about first impressions and insults. He groaned in embarrassment as the scene replayed over and over in his head. He rushed through his shower, movements fueled by his anger at his stupid roommate, and at himself.

Keith dressed quickly, but stopped suddenly, shirt in hand, and sighed. He had most definitely broken his promise to Shiro now. There was no way he could be friendly with Lance now. He didn’t even know what it was about his roommate that got under his skin but _damn_ , it was like every he saw Lance, he wanted to yell at him. Maybe… maybe he should just suck it up and apologize.

The door burst open then and Lance rushed in, “Listen, Keith-” The words died on his lips and the door swung shut behind him. He couldn’t form a single cohesive thought except for the fact that Keith was _ripped_. Like, how had he not noticed before? Of course, he hadn’t noticed because they literally just met the day before and he’d never seen Keith shirtless. But usually, he could tell when people were muscular, especially when they looked so-- wait. _What the actual hell was he thinking?_

He shook the thought from his head and looked up to meet Keith’s questioning gaze. “You’re not wearing a shirt.” _Goddamn it._ Keith frowned, “Did you just come back to make pointless observations?” He asked as he tugged on the shirt he had been holding in his hands.

Lance chose to ignore his comment. “First of all, I came back because I also, y’know, live here. This is _our_ dorm. And second, I came back to… to apologize.” It was harder than Lance had previously thought it would be to get the words out. But he figured that Keith’s sudden deer-in-the-headlights expression was kind of worth it.

“You what?”

“Don’t act so shocked. I can admit when I’m wrong. And I was.” This wasn’t entirely true. After all, if Shay hadn’t pointed out his mistake, he probably would’ve held a grudge against Keith for the rest of the semester.

“But not about the petty grudge.” Lance added as an afterthought, “That was true. Anyway, I’m sorry.”

Silence enveloped the room after the apology and after a moment, Lance swayed awkwardly in the doorway, unsure whether to take Keith’s silence as forgiveness or…

“I’m sorry too.” Lance’s eyes widened at the returned apology that he had not been expecting. “I shouldn’t have snapped. It was really stupid… but you really should watch where you’re going. You can’t just go running around corners like an idiot.”

Lance shrugged and flopped down on his bed. “I know. And you kind of already chewed me out for that. And if you hadn’t, then Hunk would have so… I guess I’m just glad all that’s over with.”

Keith nodded and sat down on his bed, completely baffled by what had just happened. He hadn’t been expecting Lance to give in so easily. It was possible that he’d judged him too quickly. He could almost hear Shiro telling him that nothing good came from judging a book by its cover. A small smile found its way onto his lips at the thought.

“Oh, so you can smile.” Lance pointed out and Keith glared at him, only to have him laugh. “Listen, we seriously got off on the wrong foot yesterday. Which was probably my fault? But forgetting it ever happened just never works. And you’ll probably never let it go anyway…”

Keith was shocked at how much Lance’s demeanor had changed in such a short amount of time. However, he realized almost immediately that he’d never even gotten a chance to know Lance. He’d shut his roommate down every time he tried to make conversation.

“Do you want to hang out tomorrow?”

Keith looked up again, confused. Too much was happening for him to process and he could only respond with, “What?”

Lance waved his phone around as if it helped clear up the situation. “Hang out. With me. And Hunk. And his girlfriend, Shay. And Hunk’s new friend Pidge. They were all there earlier. Not sure if you saw them while you were raging, though. Anyway, we’re gonna hang out. So if you wanna join… I mean, unless you have class.”

Keith was ready to turn him down. Turning people down pretty much came as second nature to him. Instead, he felt himself nod and say, “Sure,” like he had any idea how to interact with people normally.

Tomorrow was definitely going to be interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it!  
> And thanks to my friend Scarlet_Witch147 for giving me inspiration for this chapter, you're a lifesaver.
> 
> Leave me a comment on anything you liked, I'd really appreciate it!  
> And see you next chapter.


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